Eyes Wide Open
by d0ntbleenk
Summary: Jeremy Gilbert is sent back to 1920's Chicago to change Stefan's ripper past, but finds himself seeking help from a certain blonde original vampire. AU!Jerbekah.
1. Chapter 1

**_This is a fic dedicated to the ship Jerbekah (Jeremy Gilbert and Rebekah Mikaelson). I was inspired by a post on tumblr a while ago, but I finally worked up enough motivation to start writing something fic-length. Here's the first part! xx_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

He'd been in the basement of the old house that stood on sacred witches' ground a million times before, because comfortable with the dim glow of the candles, cobwebs, and ever-present chill that came with the territory. He'd been Bonnie's own personal test subject before, too. But tonight felt different.

"Think of Elena," he heard Bonnie say, shaking him from his brief reverie. She was walking towards him, a large and very old-looking book open in her arms. "We're doing this for her."

"And what about you?"

She looked up from her book, blinking for a moment and then furrowing her brows. "What about me? Like I said, this –"

"Okay. Forget I asked." He held up his hands in front of himself defensively, before taking a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. It didn't work. "So what do I have to do?"

"Nothing," Bonnie told him, shutting her book and setting it aside. She knelt down on the floor and he followed suit, a map smeared with blood the only thing between them. "Just hold out your hands and keep still." He offered her his hands and she took them gingerly, taking a breath and shutting her eyes, allowing herself to relax.

"Bonnie, you don't have to –"

She sighed, shaking her head. "I know I don't have to do this, but Elena's my best friend. I can't bear to see her suffering the way she is. That's why we need to _fix_ whatever the hell it is Klaus broke in Stefan."

Her tone was matter of fact, and her gaze dared him to challenge her again, but he kept quiet. He swallowed and let her return to her state of relaxation, before she began to chant in Latin. At first nothing happened. That's how it always started. But this time was different, and he slowly felt himself regretting volunteering to do this. Sure, Elena was his sister, but she'd get over Stefan. It wasn't healthy pining after him the way she still did. But he found his hands were tightly grasped in Bonnie's and there was no turning back now.

The lights began to flicker, a gust of wind threatening to put out the candles surrounding them and lifting the corners of the map off the ground. Looking up, he saw that Bonnie was starting to bleed. "Bonnie!" He shouted, tugging at her hands, but she wasn't responding. "Bonnie, stop! Bonnie –"

She heard him shouting her name once, twice, a third time, as though it was far away. And then all of a sudden it stopped and her chanting stopped, too, her hands feeling suddenly empty. She opened her eyes, and with a gasp, she quickly got to her feet, looking around.

"Jeremy?" she called feebly. "Jeremy!" But no matter how many times she called out to him, the fact still remained:

Jeremy was gone.

* * *

_Chicago, 1920's_

She'd told them to give her a minute and had ended up taking fifteen. She was the type of girl to catch the spotlight both when she wanted it and when she didn't, and the type to get lonely in a room full of people. Was that due to the fact that her brother saw right through her or that his newest protégé only wanted her for her body, or both? Her luck had run out long ago.

Or so it seemed.

"You said a minute," came a voice suddenly in her ear, and she knew immediately who it was as the owner of said voice placed a kiss on her jaw and a hand at her hip.

"I say a lot of things, Stefan," she replied coyly, swirling the amber liquid in her glass.

"_Rebekah_,"

The blonde caught him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him sharply towards her and hissing in his ear, "You're not my father, and you're sure as hell not my brother either, if he had any sort of power over me. So if I want to be alone for a minute, you'd do well to let me have a minute alone."

When she released him, she saw he looked confused. This was new, considering she'd only ever seen him hungry, mischievous or lustful (or a combination of all three) since the day they'd met.

"Did I do something wrong?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes, lifting her glass to her lips as her eyes fell on something just over Stefan's shoulder. Niklaus, who was standing by the railing above them, watching from a distance but, judging by the smirk on his lips, hearing the whole exchange clearly.

"No, of course not." Rebekah told him simply, before pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. "I've just been a bit… on edge lately. You wouldn't understand."

"I…" he began, before following her gaze and frowning slightly. "Look, if it has anything to do with Klaus, I can talk to him about it if you'd –" Before he could finish his sentence, however, there was suddenly the sound of glass breaking and a shrill outcry as smoke started to fill the room. Rebekah's brows furrowed, but as soon as she heard Stefan – and quite a few others – start to cough, she knew exactly what was going on. "Ver…vain." He managed to choke out.

And that's when the shooting began.

* * *

He had been standing in the middle of the room when it started. Jeremy had managed to persuade a very drunk middle-aged man out of his suit on his way in, and effectively blended into the scene he had woken up in. That didn't eliminate the fact that he was royally confused, and that Bonnie would be getting an earfull if he ever got back to the 21st century.

"Elaine? Elaine, honey, what's going on?"

Jeremy had been in the middle of pushing his way through the crowd when he heard the sound of glass over the music and an object hit the floor a few feet away, emitting a thick cloud of smoke almost immediately. People around him started to grasp at their necks, cough, and some even screamed. The woman he suspected was called Elaine had fallen to her knees in front of him, her companion looking utterly confused. He would have felt the same way, if his eyes hadn't fallen on an all too familiar blonde at the bar across the room. Jeremy took a step towards them, but the second he did, doors flew open and the bullets started pouring in.

He dropped down into a crouch as people around him started to scatter and bump into him, and furniture burst into splinters of wood where bullets hit them. Jeremy tried to quickly maneuver his way towards the bar, but by the time he reached it he found that Rebekah was already gone.

However, she didn't seem to have gotten very far.

"Nik! Nik, where are you?"

Jeremy spun around, finding the very blonde he had been looking for wandering around the room almost like she had some kind of death wish. Somehow, every bullet narrowly missed her, hitting other things, but she hardly flinched. "_Nik!_" her call was desperate, and she seemed to have lost her companion – whoever she had been with when he'd seen her at the bar.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Jeremy shouted, running over to her and tugging her out of the line of fire behind a large piano.

"Let _go_ –" she hissed, but by the time she had acquired temporary shelter, she seemed to have regained her sanity. "What? No, I was just looking for my brother…" She peered around the side of the piano, but all she could see was a blur of feet, dead bodies, and bullet holes in the floor. It was all she could do to keep the instinct at bay as the smell of blood was almost overwhelming now.

Jeremy shook his head, before leaning it back against the leg of the piano, trying to catch his breath. "There's no use. If you haven't found him by now, you have to stop looking –"

"No! I can't –"

"Hey!" He said, his tone more harsh than he'd intended. Jeremy was kneeling in front of her now, his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "I'm not saying that he's dead." He bit his lip, trying not to give anything away. He knew, of course, that Klaus had gotten away safely, but Rebekah was so sure that he hadn't. "But if we don't get out of here now, you very well might be and then there'll be no chance of you finding him again."

She was shaking her head again. "I can't… I can't leave him – oh!" Rebekah's eyes widened as a bullet hit the floor next to her, marring the floor. Soon, she was on her feet, taking his hand and dragging him up with her. "Fine, okay," she coughed. "Let's go."

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

Jeremy looked up as Rebekah walked into the living room, still clutching a bag of frozen peas to his mouth. He had run into some trouble as they had made their getaway, busting his lip pretty bad and scratching up his hands. She, however, looked like none of the events of the night had even touched her, let alone happened at all. "You let me in…?" was his semi-muffled reply.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, taking the towel from her hair and letting it fall around her face in damp waves. "No, I meant what are you doing _here_. In Chicago?" She rose a brow. "In this _century_?"

"I don't know what you're talking –"

"Save it," she told him. "People don't just walk into that speakeasy unless they were told about it by someone else. You don't look like you know anyone that frequents the place, and I certainly have never seen you before." Rebekah looked him up and down. "And you're _human_. Humans from around here aren't that stupid."

"You mean like a centuries-old vampire that walks in on a raid? _That_ stupid?"

Before he could take a breath, the blonde was pinning him to the nearest wall with a hand at his throat. He dropped the peas, blinking wildly at the sudden assault. "Tell me who you are and what the hell you want before I snap your neck," Rebekah hissed, her voice barely above a hiss.

"Jeremy Gilbert. I was sent here from the future by a friend to fix a mess that _your_ brother made." He gasped out the words, prying at her hand. Surprisingly enough, she released him then.

"Gilbert…" she mused, weighing the name on her tongue. "Well that explains the stupidity."

Rubbing his neck, Jeremy stepped towards her, eyes steady on her face. "Okay, I answered your question, now it's my time to ask one." He took a deep breath as she finally met his gaze, her blue eyes dark. "What happened back there?"

"What makes you think –"

"Because you _know_ what happened," Jeremy insisted, his eyebrows pulling together. "I saw the way you were so quick to get Stefan out of there, Rebekah." She rose her eyebrow, but he just shrugged apologetically. "Sorry." He shook his head. "It's just… you had to have known what would happen if you knew to get him out before it got bad."

She sighed, moving to sit on the couch. "I didn't know what exactly would happen, I just knew that they would come after us. It was only a matter of time until they caught up."

Jeremy frowned, "Until who caught up? Your father?"

"What?" Rebekah said, looking up at him in a mixture of confusion and irritation. She didn't seem to have fully heard him, so he just shook his head and went to sit down next to her. "Look, it doesn't matter, okay? Once my brother shows his face again, we'll be off to a new town, a new life…"

"You don't sound too excited about that," Jeremy observed.

"Well, when moving around and being on the run has been a huge part of your life, it gets a bit boring after a while, you know?" she explained, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Makes sense," he chuckled, looking away.

As he did, Rebekah leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, making his brows furrow considerably. It was odd, considering they'd never spoken two words to eachother before – in the present – and now they were chatting away in her living room like everything had changed.

It was odd… and somehow felt good, too.

Without really thinking about it, his hand found its way to the back of her neck, and he pressed a kiss to her lips, at first slow and sweet, until she started to respond. She kissed him back for what felt like hours, but it was only minutes later when he was pulling away. Rebekah looked up at him, somewhat dazed by the surprise kiss. She bit her lip, finding it wet with something bitter and metallic in taste.

_Blood_.

She felt her cheeks tighten as the veins emerged under her eyes, her teeth sharpening to lethal points. Rebekah was on her feet in seconds, her hands over her mouth. "You should go."

"Rebekah, I –"

"_Now!_" She shouted, and that was all the incentive he needed to grab his coat and make a beeline for the door, despite the fact that, in this new town and new century, he had no idea where he was supposed to go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"You have got to be joking."

Jeremy blinked away the sleep from his eyes, looking up towards the door and finding Rebekah standing there. She was leaned against the door frame, arms crossed. "What part of 'I was sent here from the future' didn't you understand?" He said, standing up and brushing off his pants.

She rose an eyebrow. "So you slept outside _my_ apartment?"

"Well after what happened last night I doubted you let me sleep _in_ it –" her lethal glare cut him off suddenly, and he cleared his throat, shaking his head. "At least let me explain."

Rebekah pressed her lips together, looking him over carefully. "There's nothing to explain. Now come in and get yourself cleaned up before the neighbors start to talk." She grabbed him by the sleeve and tugged him inside before he had a chance to protest.

The shower was hot and filled the bathroom with a thick cloud of steam, but it felt good. He'd almost started to think he'd never have a hot shower again, considering he didn't know how long he was stuck here or how he was going to get a hold of Bonnie so he could go back. He wrapped a towel around his hips, before walking out of the bathroom into a bedroom that was slightly bigger than his back home. On the bed were clothes; he quickly put them on.

"Much better," Rebekah told him approvingly as he walked into the kitchen, where she was leaning against the counter and sipping from a mug. "Now I don't have to worry about anyone thinking I took in a homeless person."

"You still know nothing about me, though," Jeremy said, walking over to the refridgerator.

"That's true," she agreed. "I'm still not even sure if I believe your story about being from the future, although it kind of makes sense when I think of all the stuff you know about me already."

He clutched his stomach as it growled disapprovingly at the empty fridge, before straightening up and looking over at her. "Do you have any real food in here?"

"What do you think?" A look crossed his face, but she merely laughed, pointing over his head at the boxes of cereal on top of the fridge. "And there's milk in the door. We have to keep up appearances, you know?"

"So, did you ever find out what happened to –"

"Nik!" Rebekah hissed, her eyes widening as she hurried over to Jeremy and all but shoved him into the pantry closet in the hallway just off the kitchen. "Stay here, and keep quiet."

"What –"

"_Stay here!_" He tried to move towards her, but she had already shut the door in his face, and someone had just called her name. Rebekah forced a smile, before turning and walking back into the kitchen. "Niklaus! I was so worried."

Jeremy could see them through the slits in the door. He saw her as she greeted her brother, but was hugged tightly by Stefan, his face burying itself into her neck. He said something to her, but he couldn't hear what it was. All he could tell was that Rebekah's smile was hardly reaching her eyes now.

Klaus stood off to the side, surveying the room. His eyes fell on the bowl of cereal and milk on the counter. "Hungry?" He observed, looking at his sister.

"What? No," Rebekah replied quickly. "I just had one of the neighbors over. Mrs. Francis. Her daughter's cat got out again and she was so distraught. I thought cereal might comfort her till we found it."

"Cereal…" Klaus repeated, sounding less than convinced as his eyes surveyed the room. He took a step in the direction of the pantry, and Jeremy, against better judgement, stepped further into the pantry. He kicked over a few cans, but they landed on a bag of flour, luckily making very little noise. "Are they still here?"

She was silent for a moment, her head turned slightly towards the pantry. She'd heard him. After a second, though, she blinked. "Who?"

"Mrs. Francis and her daughter." This was Stefan.

"No, they left before you got here –"

Klaus's hands were suddenly on her shoulders, shoving her hard into the refridgerator. "Mrs. Francis died last week. Her daughter doesn't live with her." He snapped. "Why are you lying?"

"You mean like how you've been lying to me since we got here?" She shot back, shoving him off of her. "Where were you last night, hm?"

"We got turned around after the raid at the bar –"

"Did you?" Rebekah asked coldly, looking from Stefan to her brother. "Or did he compell you to say that and forget what really happened? He's probably been working with our father this whole time. You were always his favorite. Isn't that why he's looking for _you_?"

"Rebekah –"

Stefan was trying to stop her, but she wouldn't listen and Klaus was seething. Jeremy had a feeling that this would go bad much sooner than he thought, and was torn between remaining hidden and doing something reckless to stop it.

But it was already much too late.

"You've never tried to stop him, have you? You just keep running," she spat. "I've been with you for ages, Niklaus. Forever and always, that's what we'd said. You're my brother, but leaving your own sister behind for hunters, keeping her waiting afterwards, and lying to her about where you disappear to every night? That's not how –"

"ENOUGH!" Klaus finally shouted. There was suddenly a rush of movement, a crack and then the thud that followed as her body hit the floor, limp and lifeless. "I've had enough."

And with that, he turned an exited the apartment without another word or look back at his sister.

* * *

It was hours later when Rebekah came to again. Jeremy had managed to move her to the couch, since her bed was too far and the floor was probably not nearly as comfortable as it looked. She gasped, drawing in breath she didn't need as her eyes popped open, sitting up suddenly, her chest heaving. She grabbed at her neck, looking frantic.

"Hey," Jeremy said, looking at her steadily. "You're okay. Your brother might be an asshole, but at least you're alive." She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Rebekah shook her head. "You didn't have to stay until I woke up."

"I know, but I wanted to," he told her simply, their gazes locking for a moment longer than was necessary. Rebekah's lips parted slightly as she exhaled, blinking at his words. Jeremy was the first to break eye contact, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, where else would I have gone? This is the only place I have to go right now."

"How long are you here?" She inquired finally.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Probably whenever Bonnie figures out how to get in touch with me and bring me back." Jeremy saw her look of confusion and quickly added, "She's a witch."

"That would make sense."

"Of course it does," Jeremy said, "It's not like you expected me to have had a time machine or something on hand, did you?" Rebekah blinked, looking genuinely confused. He opened his mouth to explain, realizing his mistake, but she waved his words off dismissively.

"Whatever," she told him, before standing up. "Look, if it's a witch you need to get out of here, then I know a few in town –"

Jeremy was suddenly on his feet as well, blocking her path. "Are you sure you should be going anywhere right now? I mean you did just get killed a few minutes ago. By your own _brother_."

"I'm an original vampire. I can handle it." Rebekah pushed past him, but had only made it a few steps before she felt a sudden dizziness wash over her. Her hand on his shoulder was the only thing that had kept her from falling to the floor. "Or maybe not."

"See? What did I say?" He tried not to look too smug as he helped her straighten up again, his hands placed lightly on her waist, hers on his shoulders.

She was shaking her head. "Usually I'm fine when I wake up again. Maybe it took more blood to heal me than usual and I'm just feeling a bit lightheaded." Rebekah told him. "It's nothing –"

"It didn't look like nothing." Jeremy said, his face growing serious suddenly. "You need blood to do so much as walk across the room." He paused for a second, swallowing hard as he pulled his collar away from his neck. "Take it from me."

"Jeremy –" she tried to protest, her eyes wide.

"Do it now," he insisted, stepping closer to her, his neck exposed. Her mouth was suddenly very dry. "Before I change my mind."

She swallowed, her hands fisting in the fabric at his shoulders. Rebekah was growing more and more aware of how hungry she was by the second, and the fact that she could hear his heart beat loud and clear wasn't helping matters either. She slipped her hand up behind his neck as he tilted it at an angle to give her more access, before exposing her fangs and plunging them into his skin.

His blood should have been like every other human's blood she'd ever had in her lifetime, but it was different somehow. The scent alone was driving her crazy, but the taste… she could have drained him dry. But she had better control than that and she was beginning to like him. Once she'd had her fill, she pulled away, pausing only to lick the excess blood from his neck. Her eyes met his, and suddenly she felt stronger, more in control than before.

Rebekah opened her mouth to thank him, but before she could get the words out, Jeremy was reaching up to wipe away the blood on her lip with his thumb. Her tongue darted out of its own accord, and suddenly she was sucking the sweet liquid from his thumb, her eyes never leaving his all the while. She could see the heaviness of his lids, hear the quickened rhythm of his heart.

But even she knew that now wasn't the time.

He removed his finger from her mouth, and she quickly made sure that there was nothing else remaining around her mouth before clearing her throat and making her way to the door. Jeremy caught up to her and caught her by the wrist. "Wait," he said. "Maybe we should hold off on the whole witch…thing."

"Why?" Rebekah asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Because I have to find Stefan and save him from your brother," Jeremy explained with a sigh, running his hand through his hair. "For my sister."

"Well it's a good thing that you have me," she told him, her lips curving up in a small smirk as she twisted her arm out of his grasp and took his hand. "Because I know just where to find him."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

They stood across the street from a rundown old hotel that looked out of business. It was a clear and quiet night, but because they were so far from the main road and the hustle and bustle of the city, it was easy to hear the familiar thump of upbeat jazz music coming from somewhere they couldn't see.

Jeremy glanced over at Rebekah, who was wearing a shimmering blue number that fell a little higher than mid-thigh and had her hair all done up, looking like she was ready to take on the town once more. It was an odd sight, considering the last time she'd gone out she'd almost gotten killed, but she looked amazing nonetheless.

She had a little smile on her lips when she looked over at him finally, hooking her arm through his as she dragged him towards the building.

"Aren't you worried?" Jeremy couldn't help but ask as they walked.

"About what? Nik?" Rebekah inquired, before forcing a laugh and shaking her head. "I'm not scared of my _brother_, Jeremy."

Jeremy stopped then, hardly caring that they were standing in the middle of the road. This part of town seemed pretty deserted, apart from the few people hanging around the building smoking and chatting amongst themselves. She looked annoyed. "I think you're forgetting that he snapped your neck –"

"It could've been worse –"

"_How_?" Jeremy shot back, anger flaring up in him suddenly. "I don't trust him."

"_I can handle myself_." Rebekah told him matter-of-factly, pressing her lips together seriously to indicate that the subject was now off the table. She shot a glance towards the building they had been heading for. "In the basement of that hotel is the _Katerina_."

Jeremy's brows furrowed, looking towards the building. "The _Katerina_?" He repeated. "As in Katerina _Petrova_?"

"Yes." The blonde vampire confirmed, a look of confusion forming on her face. "It is run by my brother, Elijah. Vampires only." Rebekah stepped into his line of sight. "How did you know that?"

"Lucky guess," Jeremy said simply, before taking her hand and dragging her towards what looked like the entrance without waiting for a response.

* * *

"Maybe we should split up."

"And maybe you have some sort of death wish," Rebekah responded, shooting him an amused look. "What part of 'this place is frequented by vampires' did you not understand?"

"I understood the first time," Jeremy assured her. "But we've been here for over an hour now and have yet to find Stefan. Maybe he's not even here –"

"Oh, he's here. He's _always_ here."

As Jeremy ordered their drinks, Rebekah leaned back against the bar and scanned the crowded space. She wasn't sure why the younger Salvatore frequented the place so much – maybe it was because he was surrounded by other vampires like him, or maybe because it was run and owned by the Mikaelsons, the only people he really trusted now.

"Well, we'd cover more ground if you didn't insist on having me at your hip all night," Jeremy explained. "Seriously, the fact that you won't let go of me is making me think you actually _like_ me or something –"

"Don't be _ridiculous_."

"And who's this?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes at the sound of a third voice intruding on their conversation, before letting them rest on the most irritating of her four brothers. "Don't you have some young and innocent human girl to be taking advantage of somewhere, Kol?"

Kol snatched up the drink that was meant to be Jeremy's, draining the glass in one go. "Oh, don't pretend like I'm the bad guy here." He said, nodding towards Jeremy. "Does Stefan Salvatore know you're cheating on him with… _that_?" Kol's eyes lingered on the human boy for a second longer than needed, before returning to his sister.

"I'm not cheating on anyone," Rebekah shot back. "Now get _lost_ –"

"Have you seen Stefan?" Jeremy interrupted, looking towards Kol and still slightly annoyed at him for taking his drink.

The original vampire smiled, before pointing towards a dark red velvet curtain towards the back of the room. "Last I saw him he was disappearing through there," Kol explained. "Didn't look too happy, though. Are you not _everything_ he ever hoped for, Beks?"

"Go to hell." Rebekah hissed, pushing past him and heading off in the direction he'd pointed with Jeremy close in tow.

"What was that all about?" Jeremy asked as he fell into step next to her and they grew nearer to their destination.

Rebekah didn't look at him. "My brother's an asshole, but that's not exactly news."

"No, not that. The part about you and Stefan," he clarified, brows furrowing. "I mean, I knew about you two being together, but you're not happy, are you?"

"I told you before: I can take care of myself, Jeremy."

"I know, but I'm just trying to help –"

"I don't need your help!" Rebekah snapped, before throwing up her hands and storming off in the opposite direction. They had reached the curtain, but she'd left him there alone, mouth dry and torn between going without her and chasing her.

The decision should have been easy, considering he had come there for one reason. A reason that had not initally involved Rebekah or her life. But he had priorities.

He didn't know how long he had been standing there staring after her, but eventually someone came stumbling out from behind the curtain and ran right into Jeremy from behind. They both started apologizing, but after a moment he realized who it was that had run into him.

"Stefan." He breathed on impulse.

The Salvatore's eyebrows came together, and it was clear that he was drunk. Jeremy couldn't recall if he'd ever seen Stefan this drunk before. "Do I know you?" He asked, looking pretty confused.

Jeremy shook his head quickly. "No," he lied, following the vampire as he made his way across the room to the bar. "I'm a… friend of Rebekah's."

"Is she here?" Stefan asked, suddenly perking up and looking around, but without following suit Jeremy knew she was probably long gone by now. It was clear that Stefan cared a lot about her, so he found it hard to understand why she was so unhappy with him.

"She had to leave, but she asked me to talk to you," Jeremy said smoothly, so caught up in the lie that it was coming easily to him. He probably wouldn't remember him in the morning, anyway. Jeremy leaned forward, lowering his voice seriously. "You have to stop hanging around Klaus. He's making you careless –"

"No." Stefan responded, shaking his head. "He's making me _better_."

Jeremy waved the bartender away as Stefan was about to order another drink, forcing him to look at him. "Killing innocent people for sport is making you _better_? In what world?"

"Klaus is helping me. I trust him."

"Well maybe you shouldn't," Jeremy shot back, and all too quickly, Stefan had his hand around his neck, slamming him down on top of the counter. Glass shattered and people gasped as they gathered around; the music stopped playing.

Jeremy's heart was pounding in his chest as he looked up at the Salvatore. He was used to being tossed around by vampires, but he'd never been tossed around by Stefan. Not once.

And yet here he was.

Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as he'd thought, after all.

Eventually, Stefan realized the scene he had made and released the human boy. Jeremy rubbed his neck as he stood up, not entirely unaware of the eyes that were glued to him now. He looked back at Stefan as the spidery veins under his eyes retreated again.

"Get out of here, kid," he said, turning his back on Jeremy before he could respond, indicating that the conversation was over.

Jeremy didn't argue. Sure, this battle had been lost, but he wasn't going to give up everything yet. He'd get through to Stefan one way or another, but he knew he couldn't do it alone. As he pushed his way through the crowd and made his way back to the door, he saw Kol watching him across the room, a small, amused smirk on his lips as he leaned against the piano.

He tipped his glass to him, before taking a long sip of his drink, and with a scowl, Jeremy shoved the door open and disappeared into the night.

* * *

He didn't know how long he had been standing out there before he finally worked up enough courage to knock on her door. Whether or not she was there, he knew she probably wouldn't let him in, but it was worth a shot.

Where else was he supposed to go, anyway?

"Rebekah," he called, knocking a second time, not caring if he woke her neighbors. Did she even have any neighbors? "Rebekah, come on, I know you're in there." Jeremy shook his head, before leaning it against the door. "Actually, I don't know. But if you're in there, I just want you to know I'm sorry. I fucked up. Please… just open up and –"

A few seconds later, the door swung open, and Jeremy stumbled forward, almost falling over completely. But he righted himself quickly, coming face to face with the blonde vampire.

She stood in the doorway, arms folded across her chest. "If you're gonna be here for a while, you should probably find your own place to live."

"Rebekah –"

"I don't know about you, but I don't typically let people who enjoy poking around in my personal life stay with me –"

"Rebekah, I said I'm _sorry_. What more can I say or do for you to be able to forgive me?"

She just stood there and looked at him for a long time, and the longer she watched him, the more uncomfortable he felt. This was bad. He'd upset a Salvatore and an original vampire in one night. He'd _really_ messed up this time.

Now what was he supposed to do?

"It didn't go well, did it?"

Jeremy met her gaze again, looking genuinely confused. "What?"

"Your talk with Stefan," Rebekah clarified. "It didn't go well, did it?"

"How could you tell?" Jeremy asked, sighing tiredly.

She stepped towards him, reaching up and pulling something from the top of his head. "You have a little glass in your hair. And your neck's still a little red."

Absently, Jeremy's hand went to his neck again. "I can't do this on my own," he admitted.

"You won't have to," Rebekah assured him softly, and without waiting for a response, she took his hand and pulled him inside.


End file.
